What is Devil’s Reign? MCU’s rumored Daredevil & Spider-Man movie explained

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Okay, so everyone’s been talking about the next big Marvel event, and honestly, it sounds amazing! Forget everything we thought we knew about the Avengers – the buzz is that Marvel might finally be adapting the ‘Devil’s Reign’ storyline. As a huge fan, I’m SO excited because that would mean a massive crossover featuring both Daredevil and Spider-Man, something we’ve been hoping for years! It’s been building in the comics for a long time, and seeing it play out on the big screen would be incredible.

Ahead of the March 23rd premiere of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 on Disney+, rumors are circulating. The new season will continue the story from where the first season left off, with Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) forced to go into hiding after Wilson Fisk, also known as Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), bans vigilantes and imposes martial law in New York City.

It’s important to remember that Marvel often takes inspiration from its comic books, but doesn’t always adapt storylines directly for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The new ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ series is a good example – it’s not a faithful recreation of the comic book story of the same name. Instead, it uses pieces of the original and playfully acknowledges that Daredevil is now back under the control of Marvel Studios after previously being on Netflix.

The show is already beginning to incorporate elements from the ‘Devil’s Reign’ comic book storyline, leading many to believe Marvel might be planning a movie event centered around it, potentially featuring Daredevil, Spider-Man, and other heroes. Here’s a breakdown of what ‘Devil’s Reign’ is about and why it could be adapted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What is Devil’s Reign?

In Marvel comics, Wilson Fisk, also known as Kingpin, became Mayor of New York City, mirroring the events in the Daredevil: Born Again storyline. This happened in a 2018 comic arc called “Mayor Fisk” by writer Charles Soule. While he used his position to benefit himself, it wasn’t until 2021’s “Devil’s Reign” that his actions truly led to widespread trouble.

A 2021 book by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto begins with Kingpin realizing he used to know Daredevil’s secret identity. However, Daredevil cleverly wiped the villain’s memory using the children of the Purple Man (who was famously played by David Tennant in the Jessica Jones TV show).

As a result, Kingpin bans all superheroes in the city. To enforce this, he creates the Thunderbolts – a team of supposedly reformed supervillains, including characters like Doctor Octopus, Rhino, and US Agent, who act as his personal police force.

The story gets pretty wild, but a key part is Luke Cage deciding to run for Mayor against Kingpin. At the same time, New York’s heroes – including Daredevil, Spider-Man, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Captain America, and Moon Knight – team up to battle the villain and his army in the city streets.

Daredevil finally gains the advantage over Kingpin by using a gem with some of the Purple Man’s abilities, briefly stopping Fisk during their battle. Although Daredevil initially tries to kill Fisk, Elektra convinces him to let the police handle it. Following Fisk’s arrest, Luke Cage is elected as the new Mayor of New York City.

Okay, so we’ve talked about what some fans might not love, but now everyone’s probably thinking about a movie, right? And honestly, it’s pretty straightforward: imagine a huge team-up of those Marvel heroes who usually deal with street-level crime, going up against Kingpin and his task force designed to take down vigilantes. It would be awesome!

Devil’s Reign in the MCU could be a streamlined version of the comics

As we discussed before, Marvel rarely copies comic books exactly. Instead, they select specific parts to use in their movies and shows, and it looks like they’re doing the same thing with the Devil’s Reign storyline.

According to The Cosmic Circus, the upcoming movie will conclude the storyline that brought Kingpin back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with the Hawkeye series in 2021. This storyline will also continue through the second season of Born Again and the Spider-Man: Brand New Day series.

Let’s hope this avoids the trope of magically erasing Daredevil’s secret identity from Kingpin’s memory. It would feel too much like the plot of Spider-Man: No Way Home, and would only complicate an already complex story.

Removing that storyline would allow the MCU’s ‘Devil’s Reign’ event to focus on a simple team-up: New York’s heroes uniting to defeat Kingpin. The first season of ‘Born Again’ ended with Matt Murdock beginning to build a secret resistance alongside Karen Page and a handful of honest police officers, so it’s logical that he would then start gathering superheroes to join the fight.

As the Season 2 trailer revealed, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) will be back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to help Daredevil. It’s likely we’ll also see Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Danny Rand, also known as Iron Fist (Finn Jones), return in future projects as well.

It would be fascinating to see Matt Murdock attempt to recruit Spider-Man, especially now that Peter Parker’s identity is no longer public knowledge after the events of No Way Home. And who could be a better person to turn to for help than a devout, crime-fighting lawyer who is also blind and guided by his faith?

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2026-02-09 21:51